Existing laws offer hope for some ‘dreamers’

Now that President Trump is phasing out the Obama administration’s initiative granting a reprieve from removal to undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children, do they have any hope?

At least some do. Studies have shown that a surprising number of undocumented immigrants — and in particular many who qualified for former president Barack Obama’s reprieve for undocumented youth — are eligible for legal status but just don’t know it. A 2014 survey of 67 legal services organizations found that more than 14% of the undocumented immigrants who sought help applying for temporary protection actually qualified for something even better: permanent legal immigration status.

Under existing laws, undocumented immigrants who are victims of serious crimes can apply for a special visa if they can show they are assisting law enforcement officers in their investigations. Trafficking victims are also eligible for special visas. People who entered the U.S. legally but then fell out of status can regain that status if a close family member, such as a legally present spouse or adult child, is willing to petition for them.

Unauthorized immigrants under age 21 may be eligible for a special visa for juveniles who are abused, abandoned or neglected by a parent in their home country. Even undocumented immigrants who are already in removal proceedings can win the right to stay if they can show that a legally present family member would suffer “exceptional and extremely unusual hardship” if they were deported.

These laws are not loopholes. They exist because Congress recognized that sometimes, punishing undocumented immigrants is less important than deterring crime, punishing human traffickers, protecting children, and preserving families.

More than 80% of undocumented immigrants overall will not qualify for relief, leaving them at risk of deportation. Still, the very existence of laws permitting undocumented people to adjust their status should give this newly vulnerable group of youth some small measure of hope.

They should also remind Americans that many undocumented immigrants are members of their communities with compelling reasons to stay in the U.S.

About two-thirds of the unauthorized population has lived in the United States for 10 years or more, and at least 9 million people live in “mixed” families, in which one or more members are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. More than 7% of schoolchildren have an undocumented parent. Deporting them all can do more harm than good.

Most important, these laws should remind Congress of a time when it was willing to serve the greater good, when it recognized that the benefits of enforcing immigration laws sometimes outweigh the high costs of doing so.

Perhaps this new crisis for undocumented youth will inspire Congress to think that way again.